Luxury real estate is now a lifestyle upgrade, not a speculative bet: DLF’s Aakash Ohri

Real estate major DLF has, once again, struck gold with its luxury offerings. Its latest project, Privana North, a part of the 116-acre integrated township DLF Privana in Sectors 76 and 77, Gurugram, was sold out within a week of its launch. This follows the swift sell-outs of DLF Privana South and West in January and May 2024, both of which were fully booked within 72 hours. Spanning 17.7 acres, Privana North comprises six premium towers rising to stilt+50 storeys, making it the tallest residential development by DLF to date. The entire township is valued at around ₹11,000 crore.

But what is most striking is not how fast the project was sold out, but how the growing demand from discerning buyers, in India and abroad, is lapping up high-end, thoughtfully designed real estate properties.

Aakash Ohri, Joint Managing Director & Chief Business Officer at DLF Homes, in an exclusive conversation with Fortune India, says the average ticket size per unit at DLF Privana stands at ₹9.5 crore (over $1 million) and that there's a diverse mix of CXOs, startup founders, professionals, family business scions, and NRIs who are buying these properties in Gurugram. There are 12 penthouses, priced at around ₹25 crore each, which have also been sold. "These aren’t speculative purchases. They represent aspirations for quality living within city limits... Privana North marks a new design and lifestyle benchmark in the Privana ecosystem. What sets it apart is the architectural refinement, from the glass façade and curvilinear tower placement for privacy, to the ultra-low density of only 65 units per acre. This evolution reflects our philosophy of constantly reimagining urban living," he says.

More NRIs, with spare income, are considering India as a key market for real estate investment, and they constitute a significant number of buyers in the latest DLF project. In FY 2023, DLF generated $240 million in sales from NRI investors, representing around 14% of total sales. In FY 2024, NRI contributions to DLF’s residential segment surged to $408 million. The momentum has continued in FY 2025, with NRI sales already reaching approximately $421 million.

In the Privana ecosystem, 25% of houses were bought by NRIs in Privana South, while 27.8% of properties in DLF Privana West were bought by NRIs. Amid the growing interest among NRIs, there are concerns that the trend is making homes more expensive for Indian buyers. However, Ohri thinks differently. He says DLF's NRI sales are a reflection of the global Indian’s growing confidence in the India story. "We’re not pricing based on buyer origin, but on the value we create. The rising price points are driven by demand fundamentals, location advantages, design evolution, and the rising aspirations of Indian buyers themselves. In fact, we see NRIs and domestic buyers both contributing robustly."

DLF's low-density, high-rise township model is now evolving as a new blueprint for urban India’s housing future, as it balances vertical living with expansive greens, enabling both sustainability and community. "With just 65 homes per acre in Privana North and over 80% open spaces, we’re redefining urban density," says Ohri, while asserting that HNIs and NRIs are increasingly seeing luxury real estate, especially in core markets like Gurugram, as both a "safe haven and a lifestyle upgrade".

On the concerns that India’s luxury housing demand is increasingly skewed toward the top urban earners, Ohri opines that while there's strong demand across segments, luxury and upper-mid-income have seen disproportionate growth. "India's housing demands remain layered, and we are mindful of addressing several income tiers throughout our portfolio. For the luxury segment specifically, the rise in HNIs and UHNIs has created a very real, very broad-based demand."

Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a surprise 50-basis-point repo rate cut to 5.5%, its third reduction in 2025. The real estate sector largely hailed it as a "watershed moment." Though it will lead to a surge in demand in the affordable segment, luxury demand is relatively rate-agnostic and driven more by product quality and lifestyle aspirations than loan cost. Ohri believes the RBI has walked a tightrope "well," despite the global headwinds. "For the housing market, a stable rate regime offers confidence. However, a gradual softening in rates would be welcome, especially for mid-income homebuyers."

India's luxury real estate is seeing a big boom, with homes in this category (priced over ₹1 crore) dominating 2024 sales as they surpassed the 50% mark for the first time. This is where top players like DLF are focusing. Ohri says in the luxury segment of real estate, DLF has raised the bar with Privana North. "Our future launches, including the landmark project in Mumbai, and upcoming phases of The Dahlias will reflect that same commitment: to create communities that people are proud to live in for generations."